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History and Influence of the American Psychiatric Association

Beginning with the history of mental health care in the 1840s—before the advent of organized psychiatry—this book traces the development of the profession and the subsequent care of its patients. The History and Influence of the American Psychiatric Association covers the impact on psychiatry of historical events such as the Civil War, communist expansion, and the civil rights movement.

The Beginning: development in the care of the mentally ill before 1840. The birth of organized psychiatry in the 1840s. The formative years: 1850-1899. Psychiatry as a social force: 1900-1949. Psychiatry advances as a medical specialty: 1900-1949. Medicine and Society: toward shared authority and power, 1950-1986. Building a stronger American Psychiatric Association after 1950. Appendix A: Benjamin Rush. Appendix B: The Founding Fathers: brief biographical sketches. Appendix C: Dorthea Dix. Appendix D: The medical directors of the American Psychiatric Association. Appendix E: The headquarters at 1400 K St. Appendix I: Officers and meeting places of the American Psychiatric Association.